Focused On Your Business Virtual Office Blog

A year ago I met with a new client.  He fully believed in person-to-person networking and wanted nothing to do with a website or online marketing.  I talked him into putting up at least a very simple Wordpress website – nothing fancy, because I knew he wasn’t ready.  He’s been stewing over his site for a year…

Today we met and we are now talking about… blogging, email marketing, video marketing, social media, finding affiliates to partner and link with!  Woohoo!

His exact words were, “there are so many companies just now realizing that they need to be found online to survive and thrive. I’m already ahead of the game, thanks to you!”

Consider this – Stick your head in the sand and you will be left behind!

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I often deal with B2B start ups, who struggle with acknowledging their own expertise and knowledge! When we first start out, we are trying to attract new clients and what better way than word of mouth advertising from a satisfied customer, right?

I recently met a graphic designer who was extremely talented, but struggled to find new clients! His own website was incredible. However, his portfolio showed no evidence of such a talent. The images, ads and website he created for his client lacked his eye for colors, layout and EQ of marketing. When I asked him why, he explained that the client always tweaked his original designs and what was in the portfolio was the end result.

Pleasing your clients too much by not sharing the depth of your knowledge and only following instructions (the customer is always right) often ends in NOT achieving the results your client is looking for. The reason why you were hired in the first place was because of your expertise, your creativity, your knowledge in your field and sometimes that means speaking up and explaining why things should be done a certain way to achieve results.

The good news is that with a little tweaking on your part (stepping out of your comfort zone by speaking up when necessary), you might surprise your client by explaining the “WHY” something needs to be done a certain way. This allows your open-minded client to see the benefit of giving you the freedom to do what is necessary and then become a raving fan of your business.

I say… Step out of your comfort zone and GO FOR IT!  The results will speak volumes!

The problem with staying healthy and fit is that one has to commit to it every day – well, at least a few days a week.  If I could work out for a month, 24 hours a day for all I care,  and then be good for a couple of years, I’d be the fittest person in the world.  Sadly that just “ain’t” so.

Marketing isn’t any different, especially online marketing.  It is a continuous, ongoing effort that we have to commit to to succeed. We cannot write a few blog posts, post many status updates in one day on our social media sites and then forget about it.

I’ll say it again… “Online Marketing is a continuous, ongoing effort that we have to commit to to succeed.”

That being said, it also doesn’t have to become overwhelming.  Your favorite fitness coach tells you, all you have to commit to is to exercise 20 minutes a day to stay fit and healthy and, of course, change your daily eating habits. I’m telling you, all you have to commit to is 20 minutes a day to keep your online marketing going, along with 1- 2 hours, once or twice a month to create content for your blog posts and email marketing campaigns. (Initial set up excluded, but you can always outsource that part.)

1. Social Media Sites. Take 10 – 20 minutes every morning to check what people are saying and respond, respond, respond. Approach it not as a business, but pretend you are face to face and start a conversation.  Have fun with it!  Facebook Fan Page tips and tricks on how to engage your audience.
2. Blog. Think of your blog, not as a sales tool, but as sharing your knowledge with your friends. You are the expert in your field and you know so much about what your company offers – share it! Set yourself apart from your competition! Download your SEO tips and tricks  from Hubspot here!
3. Email Campaigns. Collect email address by offering something – a discount, a free eBook, a white paper, a how-to guide, your knowledge and expertise, etc. Stay in touch with your community by sending email campaigns on a regular basis.  Don’t hard sell, but include that all important call to action!  ”Oh, I’ve been meaning to call you about this or that… good thing I received your newsletter”, is what we all love to hear!  In the end it’s about results, isn’t it!
4. Listings. Take a few minutes every month and add your website URL to relevant, industry related listings. Invest in this eBook to learn best practices.

Why do I need to do all this?  Just throwing your website up is not enough anymore, unless it is considered an online business card.  This means that the only way your company can be found is by typing in the exact URL of your website. If I’m looking for a pizza place in my town online, I’m not searching for a specific place; I’m looking for “A” pizza place and the ones that show up in my search results have the best chance of receiving my business that day!

So, take 20 minutes a day and start working out!

So, you have added a Facebook fan page to your online marketing mix – Good For YOU!

1. Put yourself in your customer’s position. What would you like to hear from your company?
2. Pick your very favorite customer and write to them specifically as if you were engaging in a conversation at a networking meeting.
3. Have a general strategy, but be flexible. You need to be able to think on your feet. News gets old really fast these days and if your status update is days behind the actual event, no one will care.

What would the New Year be without an inspirational blog post, right?

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

-Norman Vincent Peale

Confidence – something we all struggle with from time to time, I’m sure! Much has been said about this subject, but I’d like to add my own observations.  So, here it goes…..

I was fascinated by X-Factor this year.  The word admiration comes to mind as I watched the contestants get up on that stage and sing their hearts out in front of who knows how many millions of people; some with an “I’m the best” attitude, some with an “I’m very nervous, but I can do this” attitude and some with a very quiet, humble self confidence in their ability. I’m sure that all of them where equally nervous in their own way, but, of course, not all of them shared the same talent. What I find most interesting is that the ones with the most talent, usually are the most humble and don’t get the deserved attention. As a matter of fact, when choosing the final acts to go to the live shows, numerous judges mentioned that confidence was a big factor. It isn’t fair, but then again what is ever accomplished without confidence.

When you run a business, it is imperative to portray a humble but reasonable confidence in your own abilities and in your business to put your employees and customers at ease. If you, (the business owner) don’t feel that, how can you expect your customers or employees to put their trust in you? On the other hand, if you are overly confident but can’t back it up with your abilities, products or services, does that make you trustworthy or successful in the long run?

Consistency is key! We all experience ups and downs, but eventually your track record will stand for itself and there will be no more denying your abilities.  Accept that nothing will ever be completely perfect and go for it!  If you are still struggling with confidence, I suggest you choose a mentor, someone you can follow on line who shares your values and believes; watch closely and learn from the best.

I thank all the mentors and teachers I’ve followed this past year and who have helped me come to this conclusion: This year, I’m aiming for humble but reasonable confidence in my abilities and powers!

Are you taking care of yourself or are you burning out?

A few month ago I wrote a blog called “Time for Change”. At the time, I just wrote about an Arizona dust storm, but as so often it became a metaphor for my life at that time. I was working too many hours, undercharging and seriously doubting my abilities.

Riding out the storm (as I so eloquently wrote in my last blog entry), wasn’t as easy as I would have liked it to be. Many hours were spent, unsure of too many things.

“The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one’s life.” – The Dalai Lama.

In the end I came to the following realizations:

1. Nobody is perfect

2. We are all good at what we do

3. It is okay to take time off

Being an entrepreneur means many things to many people; freedom, flexibility, the ability to do what you love, working hard and many hours come to mind. That does not mean that work needs to become your life. Finding a work/life balance is a must.

Note to self: Don’t forget to have fun today!

Here is an informative page to like on how to transform your stress.

How do I achieve a good online presence? What do I need to do to include social media in the mix? Why exactly should I blog and how often? Where do I start? How does email marketing fit into all this? I don’t have time to do all this!

These are just some of the questions I answer on a daily basis. The good news is that once everything is set up it can easily be streamlined to take less of your time.

1. Start with your website! Your website needs to have a good logo, look and feel, and most of all excellent content. Investing in someone with strong SEO knowledge is worth it, if you do not have the knowledge!

2. Incorporate your blog page into your website or create your website in Wordpress around your blog page. A Wordpress website/blog is very inexpensive and is easily set up.

3. Decide on a good email marketing platform such as Mailchimp, ConstantContact, etc. My favorite right now is Mailchimp for its flexibility and ease of use. Make sure you incorporate the branding of your website into your email marketing template.

4. Set up your Linkedin profile as detailed as possible. Don’t forget to include your website URL, your blog URL, and your twitter account. You can also set up a company profile. Once your profile is complete, connect with your business connections. There are numerous strategies to grow your list of connections in the future.

5. Create a fan page for your business on Facebook. Your profile could get shut down if you are running it as a business; that’s what your fan page is for! When creating your fan page, take the time to do it right. Include a customized sidebar and welcome tab. This welcome tab can be set as the landing page and becomes a mini website, attracting further attention to your business. It should include your best content, some good images, a call to action to like the page and can even include your newsletter sign up or whatever call to action you would like. Announce the completion of your fan page on your profile, Linkedin, your blog, twitter and anywhere else you can think of. Your first goal is to reach 25 fans so you can set your customized URL for your facebook fan page.

6. Set up your Twitter account. Again, make sure you customize your background to keep your branding in line. Announce this new Twitter account across your social media sites, blog about it and mention it in your e-newsletter.

7. Create a company video and post it on YouTube. Setting up your YouTube profile is just as simple as the others you already set up. To keep branding the same, create your customized background once again. Post this video on all your social media sites, your website, Google and anywhere else you have a presence.

8. Claim your profile in Google. Make sure you include some images, your logo and your company video.

9. Add your social media sites and newsletter sign up to your website giving your visitors many options to connect to you and search engines to find you.

10. Streamline your Marketing Process

To streamline your marketing process, you can write your blog posts all at once or as you think of them. Schedule them to go out in even intervals. Frequency depends on your allotted time; the more you write, the faster your site will be indexed on search engines due to new relevant content and links on your site.

You can also create your email campaigns ahead of time. To streamline and to save time, you can write short introductions and then link to your blog posts already written and scheduled to drive traffic back to your blog or website.

As you publish the blog posts and email campaigns, don’t forget to post them on your social media sites. There are many tools available to simply schedule them, but remember that social media is SOCIAL. Once you publish them, make sure you have time throughout the day to respond to comments.

Of course there is so much more you can do, but this is a very good start for achieving a strong online presence. Once you have everything streamlined, you can then add to your online marketing strategy.

There are many companies out there who will do this for you. If you choose to pay someone to do this for you, remember that this is your company and you have the final say in anything that will be done!

When using multiple social media sites (which I’m sure we all do), remember that your audience might be different but your voice and values should always stay the same. 

Facebook is very personal, whereas twitter can be, but due to limited characters, conversations are most likely not as deep.  Linkedin is very business oriented and that’s how it should be approached.  It might be tempting to change your tone a bit, which is acceptable, but if your persona and values change drastically from site to site, it will raise a flag for people and companies who are connected to you on multiple sites.

If you have not figured out your company’s vision, mission, culture and values, sit down and do that NOW.  Do that before you start tweeting and posting!  This is especially important if you have partners or employees who are also involved in your social media marketing strategies. Make sure that everyone who tweets or posts in the name of your company is on board and understands the values of your company.

See you in cyperspace…

I love my Toyota dealer!  Whenever I need service on my car, I actually look forward to it.  For a simple oil change I get a choice of a free massage or my nails done while I wait.  I can choose to sit outside in the sun in the winter (remember I live in Arizona) in the beautiful waiting area they created or on hot summer days, I can sit inside and enjoy complimentary coffee, water, fruit and pastries.  The waiting area is designed so nicely that I even had a business meeting there before when one of my very kind clients agreed to meet me there while my car was being worked on.  The free shuttle service they offer comes in handy when I need to run errands.  I am taken to wherever I need to go and picked up when my car is done.

This weekend my car needed a bit more work and I was immediately offered a rental car of my choice with no cost to me whatsoever.

Do I pay a little more for an oil change than at a standard Jiffy Lube –YES.  Does it bother me – NO.  Every time I walk out of there I feel like a “Queen for a Day”!

What do you do to make your customers feel like Queen/King for the day?